Fontodi Syrah Case Via 2019

Syrah is the first red variety to be harvested each year at Fontodi. The 2015 Syrah Case Via opens to an inky dark appearance with purplish and blackish hues. This is a gutsy and savory wine that offers a swift kick of aromatic intensity. Dried blackberry, plum, spice, leather and bitter chocolate peel back in thick layers. Yet, despite the heat of the vintage, you might mistake this wine as being from a cooler growing season. The fruit is tight and focused. The finish offers bright acidity that is not common to Syrah from other parts of the wine world. Those cool Panzano nighttime temperatures and higher altitudes have left their mark here. Give this wine an extra year of bottle aging to allow it to flesh out further. Only 5,500 bottles were produced.

Wow. This is real syrah that competes with the best thanks to lots of structure and depth of fruit. Dried-meat, berry and spice character. Full and chewy yet shows polish and balance.

A meaty style, displaying blackberry and plum flavors set against a base of stern tannins. Stays fresh and long, picking up tobacco and leafy elements. Drink now through 2022.

The 2010 Syrah Case Via is seriously beautiful. An exotic melange of black fruit, smoke, licorice, melted road tar and incense bursts from the glass. The 2010 is rich, full-bodied and impeccable. Stylistically, the wine's volume and shape are closer to those of warm-climate Syrahs. It will be interesting to see if more varietal character develops with time in bottle. -- Antonio Galloni